The customer

Munich Re operates in all insurance sectors and has around 45,000 employees across all continents. Its business is based on three pillars: reinsurance, direct insurance and Munich Health. The group combines direct and reinsurance under one roof, generating a profit in 2012 of €3.211 billion with income from contributions of around €52 billion. Income from contributions of approximately €28.2 billion from reinsurance alone makes Munich Re is one of the world’s leading reinsurers. Munich Re is particularly sought after as a risk carrier when solutions are required for complex risks. Experience, financial power, efficiency and first-class service make the company the first point of call for all risk-related matters.

The challenge

The aim of the project was to design a backup/restore environment that would employ high performance and stability to solve the ever increasing problem of tight windows for data backup. The previous solution had reached its limits, so action had to be taken. In addition to remedying this problem, the new solution needed to be sustainable and expandable. This meant that there were clear data throughput and performance requirements for all existing backup scenarios.

The solution

The solution developed by Fujitsu was made up of the following components:

2 x ETERNUS CS High End

2 x Quantum Scalar i6000

Fujitsu PRIMERGY server

Fiber channel switches from Brocade

CISCO network components

NetBackup from Symantec

Based on the available solution components, a backup and restore procedure was defined for the various backup scenarios that meets all relevant requirements.

The benefit

The solution’s high performance allows optimal use of the available backup windows

Close collaboration between the project and operational teams enabled the solution to be launched without reducing quality

The Fujitsu solution provides data security and integrity through NetBackup, the market-leading application from Symantec

Hardware, services and later maintenance are provided from a single source

The solution remains sustainable thanks to high scalability and technological advantages such as SAP HANA certification

The service scope

Fujitsu‘s offering encompassed not only the hardware solution, but also all project management, integration and commissioning, transfer to the operational team and maintenance for all components from a single source. Fujitsu is also the entry channel for the Symantec NetBackup backup/restore application and uses its own resources to provide 1st- and 2nd-level support. As part of Fujitsu‘s global operating model, the solution implemented will be predominantly operated remotely (offshore).

Products and services

Backup/restore solution using best-in-class components and based on ETERNUS CS High End

Integration of the solution into the existing IT landscape on the basis of coordinated solutions for each backup scenario (e.g. Windows, Linux, SAP etc.)

Transfer of the solution to productive operations based on customer processes (release to production)

Integration into the customer’s security concept

Migration of the long-term archives (duty to retain data for up to ten years) from the previous environment to the new solution

The operating model

Fujitsu has developed an operating model for Munich Re that is tailored to the company‘s specific requirements. A systematic “industrialized IT“ strategy has been implemented with a view to reducing costs and improving quality. For this purpose, Fujitsu formed a team with two focal points and locations. On the one hand, product experts onsite in Munich focus on transferring new requirements from services to operations and support design and build tasks in Munich Re projects.

Meanwhile, the offshore department in India keeps the data center running around the clock without interruption and to the contractual standard. Formalized exchanges between all participants (design, build and run) safeguard communication and thus the continuous optimization of processes. The “manager on duty“, the central point of contact, acts as the interface to Munich Re in the operational environment. They are available at all times (24x7), speak German and have specific knowledge about the reinsurance company‘s IT operations. The “manager on duty“ communicates directly with the remote operations team and is the first point of contact in escalation processes. If required, Munich Re can contact additional experts for specific questions and projects in Munich.

“Our visits to India allowed us to satisfy ourselves of the very good standard of technical services. We were particularly impressed by the outstanding onsite awareness of the significance each individual IT service has for Munich Re‘s daily business.“
Dr. Andreas Thomé, Head of System Operations, Munich Re

Fujitsu‘s solutions allowed Munich Re to generate added value that can only be offered by an IT service provider that also offers a large and comprehensive portfolio of hardware and solutions. Fujitsu demonstrated this by integrating the backup/restore solution. In cooperation with the existing operational team, this solution was transferred to production within the scope of the established processes without impairing ongoing operations.

“Fujitsu‘s backup/restore solution has enabled us not only to solve existing problems, but also to introduce an exceptionally high-performance and stable environment.“
Dr. Andreas Thomé, Head of System Operations, Munich Re